Joe Tryon-Shoyinka taking leap in second season crucial for Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will most likely rely heavily on Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. His development will be crucial for the Buccaneers to sustain success.

The future of Jason Pierre-Paul in Tampa Bay remains in doubt. Having recently turned 33, the veteran has battled injury and rumors state he is already getting looks from other teams. Add this to the fact that the Bucs have already been retaining more veterans than expected, and it isn’t looking like Pierre-Paul will be back in Tampa Bay. Thus would end a wildly successful tenure that may not get the respect it warrants when is all said and done given the big names on the roster. After all, he was the only Pro Bowler on the 2020 Super Bowl championship roster. Feel free to use that next time you find yourself in a trivia-based contest.

When one door opens, another door closes, and it’s time for Tryon-Shoyinka to kick the door down and take the next step in his career during his sophomore season.

When the Buccaneers made the former Washington Husky the final pick of the first round in the 2021 NFL Draft. The-then defending Super Bowl champions knew he’d be a bit of a project. After all, he opted out of his final season due to COVID and was a bit rusty. The Bucs were able to afford this though.

Despite that, Tryon-Shoyinka showed flashes of brilliance during the preseason and had himself a solid rookie campaign in the regular season. Appearing in all 17 games and starting six, Tryon-Shoyinka was able to rack up 29 tackles (five for a loss) and ten quarterback hits with four sacks.

The Bucs will now lean on Tryon-Shoyinka for increased playing time and more likely than not a starting role going forward. He should also be one of the pillars of the franchise to lead the youth movement once Tom Brady and the rest of the veterans that Tryon-Shoyinka has leaned on for guidance and mentorship do go to pasture, for real this time.

Luckily for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka has appeared to be growing as a player with each passing week. As long as he keeps doing what he’s doing, he’ll stay on this trajectory and both parties will be just fine because he is more than capable. This is an exciting time.